CaptainChaos
Member
I got my heater today. Last week they told me it was delivered 3000 miles from my house. It arrived with the corners bent, and worse for wear. At least I got it. I didn’t believe I would see it.
$200 5KW Portable Diesel Air Heater
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basicfish
Observer
Could you give us more details on this amazing build. I am wanting to replicate thisStill working on mine. Trying to figure out a clean way to run the intake into the cab from box.
Will probably add some quick disconnects on the box for the power and controller.
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toyotech
Expedition Leader
Love to. What do you like to know. Most of everything is using what came with the heater.
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plh
Explorer
Read the thread
plh
Explorer
I think he just put one of these: https://www.ebay.com/itm/5KW-12V-W-...or-home-Trucks-Bus-Car-Van-5000W/254092580069 into a Rigid (Home Depot) medium box. I'll do this later this spring. Looks easy.
hour
Observer
Damn that sucks. If I had seen that model for a reasonable price, like they are now, I would have definitely with an all-in-one solution. Most of the ones I've found on eBay are quad-output though, and I can't figure out what worldly purpose that would serve in a portable application.
I realized looking at your pictures that I had used my duct mounting plates incorrectly, in that I don't have one inside and one outside, per side. I've struggled to get a good seal on my hot air outlet, going from whatever diameter it is, to the back side of a single mounting plate and attempting to friction fit it slightly inside. I've always run lid cracked knowing the seal isn't perfect and hot air would accumulate. Doh, gotta rearrange things.
crazysccrmd
Observer
Is there any problem with running these on kerosene for an extended period?
Utah KJ
Free State of Florida
crazysccrmd
Observer
Thanks for the quick replies. I have 20 gallons of kerosene in sealed cans that’s been sitting in my basement for a few years. I used some for the initial runs to test my heater but wasn’t sure if it would be suitable for long term use.
hour
Observer
Some guy who tests a ton of these heaters on youtube (in depth power and fuel consumption tests, sound ratings, sound ratings with a bunch of mufflers, double mufflers, the works) said running high grade kerosene can cause the fuel pump (I think) to burn out. If I recall correctly it's because of less lubrication. He speaks about it for a bit since it happened to him. Sorry can't jump on to youtube and pull it up now.
I ran a straight gallon of kerosene through mine without issue the last time I used it. In the future I'll probably just run like 10-25% kerosene if it's convenient, to hopefully improve longevity since my heater only gets used doing tests at my house or at nearly 2 miles in elevation.
Hiya fellas,
Just stumbled across this thread and read the whole thing over lunch. I have an Espar Airtronic D2 that I bought from Fleebay 10+ years ago and it came out of a 18 wheeler. The thing went into the Kamparoo, just like how the Webastos are installed in the KK campers (same locations/ install/etc). I've always used kerosene w/o any issues. It's been working fine since install. Just some random thoughts for y'all to ponder over:
Just stumbled across this thread and read the whole thing over lunch. I have an Espar Airtronic D2 that I bought from Fleebay 10+ years ago and it came out of a 18 wheeler. The thing went into the Kamparoo, just like how the Webastos are installed in the KK campers (same locations/ install/etc). I've always used kerosene w/o any issues. It's been working fine since install. Just some random thoughts for y'all to ponder over:
- my D2 has a 7 day programmable T-stat so perhaps that could be an option for some of your Amazon/Ebay units?
- someone mentioned setting the hertz for the dosing pump. My pump speeds or slows down based on heater output. In another words, it tick-tick faster or slower depending on output. Do yours not do this?
- it's really cool that your guys' units have the "prime line/purge air" feature. Wish mine had that but maybe the newer models do, don't know. Once my system is prmied, it stays that way for years unless I run out of fuel. Won't make THAT mistake again.
- as mentioned already, if you let the heaters run below WOT (wide open throttle), soot buildup in the combustion chamber is a possibility. Usually I run it WOT, then shut it down. After the last camping trip of the season, I'll run it WOT for 15 min before shutting it down. Before the start of the camping season, I do the same thing just to avoid any surprises out in the bush.
- as stated, the thing draws high current during ignition then mellows out. I'll leave the 7 pin trailer plug stay connected to the tow rig to take advantage of a second battery. I haven't had any issues with not able to start engine. Knocking on fake wood.
- I might go through two of those dinky fuel containers in one camping season but usually it's just one fillup/season.
- I use kerosene after the first year of usage. I noticed that diesel fuel pumps introduce crap into my tiny fuel bottle so I switched to Kerosene for a cleaner fuel.
- I do wish that my Espar exhaust was a little quieter, mostly to not annoy fellow campers. I have the standard muffler that y'all have and then I stick a lawnmower muffler on the outlet of the OEM exhaust muffler. This helps somewhat but nothing earth shattering!
- as stated already, camping takes on a different meaning when you have a heater.
hour
Observer
Quality post, here's a youtube video on different mufflers if you're interested in trying other things. This guy's channel is great for learning how these units operate.